My apologies for how short this is, but I guess Perry and Della wanted to keep it short and sweet this time. This chapter did end up a lot sexier than the more emotional meeting I had envisioned, but sometimes the characters decide how they're going to be written.
Perry caught Della by the shoulders and steadied her. He stood tall and strong and handsome and taking her breath away.
"Della…," he said softly, so softly she almost couldn't hear him. He noticed the tears brimming in her hazel eyes and he knew she'd read his letter already. His heart began pounding, realizing that the moment of truth was upon him, and his breath caught in his throat.
Tiny hands rested flat against his broad chest and Della let herself relax against him, reveling in the feeling of his strong arms encircling her in that comforting, protective way he had.
"Oh Perry, what will we do?! Will I have to quit? Can we make this work? I don't want to quit, but I love you too!"
Despite the gravity of the situation and the very legitimate nature of Della's concerns, the raven haired defense attorney couldn't help but chuckle deeply.
"First, we blame Hamilton Burger because he was the one who convinced me to tell you how I felt. Second, you don't have to quit. At least not until we know if this is going to be detrimental to our working relationship. And third…"
Perry tipped Della's chin up with a strong hand and captured Della's lips with his own. The kiss was deep and full of all the longing he had expressed in the letter Della had just read.
When their lips parted, Della smiled happily and somewhat breathlessly up at Perry. "If that was third, I can only imagine what fourth and fifth will be like."
"Shall we skip ahead?" Perry asked, mischief dancing in his big blue eyes. "Surely that desk of yours has to be good for something besides work?"
"Oh, you…!" Della laughed, gently swatting him on the arm and somehow summoning the willpower to extract herself form his arms. She glanced back at him with just as much mischief as she made her way back to his office, remembering that he had a couch in there. "Now that I think of it, I believe your couch would be more comfortable for that. Any objections, Mr. Defense Attorney?"
Perry's grin widened in anticipation as Della tugged on his tie and led him in that direction.
"Not a one…," he murmured huskily as his lips found hers again and their bodies found the couch.